DIGITAL ASPIRATIONS PODCAST

How To Achieve the Biggest Benefits From the Cloud in Education – Part 2

Back to School With Your Head in the Cloud

Join us as we continue to explore the biggest benefits from moving to the Cloud in Education with a discusion on what to expect as you deploy cloud to your team.

Moving to the cloud benefits schools and faculties in numerous ways, the most apparent being major cost savings. From flexibility and accessibility to scalability and agility, clear transformation is at hand.

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How To Achieve the Biggest Benefits From the Cloud in Education – Part 1

2020 ushered in profound challenges for the education sector and a huge move to remote learning experiences across the world. Despite this transition, IT teams felt caught off-guard. And they still feel as if the benefits of cloud in education aren’t fully realized.

While the end of the pandemic may be near, the virtual classroom could be here to stay. This could be a blessing in disguise, with big scaling opportunities as schools become location-agnostic for students.

But cloud-based solutions offer a host of other advantages for educational institutions.

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Solving the Remote Work Cybersecurity Conundrum

A recent PWC survey revealed that 64% of CISOs and CIOs expect a jump in reportable ransomware and software supply chain incidents in the second half of 2021.

It’s a problem exacerbated by the unique cyber threats that occur when entire industries shift overnight to remote or hybrid work models.

As security engineers look to protect their companies from the pandemic-induced challenges, cloud-based and zero trust solutions have emerged as practices worth implementing.

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Building Foundational Elements of Security for K12s and SMBs

Security challenges can quickly become difficult to manage – especially if you direct technology for a K12 or SMB organization where you can be wearing multiple IT hats. The threat landscape is constantly evolving. And with COVID, and work from home, accelerating cloud adoption, your network has become more complex as well. What you need is a simple, straightforward way to view security threats to your network and take action to prevent, protect and remediate any damage these threats might cause.

That’s why we are discussing ways to simplify security for small and mid-sized organizations in this episode of the Digital Aspirations for Business podcast. Host Doug Stevens and his guest Michael O’Connell, Security Solutions Architect at Aspire Technology Partners, discuss security threats like ransomware, adware, phishing, and botnets and how small to mid-size organizations can prepare and defend themselves using simple cloud-based tools.

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Podcast audio link:  https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-biz/episodes/Building-Foundational-Elements-of-Security-for-K12s-and-SMBs-e19g7oc

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How a Cloud-Delivered Firewall Can Protect Your Enterprise

Every enterprise uses some type of firewall to protect and prevent outside threats from entering the network. But today’s network is larger and more ambiguous than it was even a few months ago. You’re supporting a hybrid workplace that can change in real time. Your enterprise requires a firewall that can adapt and integrate with your other cloud security services. A cloud-delivered firewall provides your organization with visibility and control of traffic no matter it originates – HQ, branch office, or remote location. And it provides your IT team with a single pane of glass to cloud-deliver policies and simplify management.

On this episode of The Digital Aspirations in Business Podcast, host Michael O’Connell a Security Solutions Architect at Aspire Technology Partners, discuss how Cisco Umbrella Secure Internet Gateway (SIG) Firewall can protect your enterprise via a next-gen, cloud-delivered security service.

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Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-biz/episodes/How-a-Cloud-Delivered-Firewall-Can-Protect-Your-Enterprise-e192mqk

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How Cisco Umbrella Secure Internet Gateway Can Protect Your Enterprise

Your enterprise is facing a dilemma right now when it comes to security. On one hand, you’re likely supporting a hybrid workplace that requires anywhere, anytime internet access. You may have employees at the office and others working remotely from homes and smaller branch offices. On the other hand, this can make for an ever-expanding attack surface that requires greater support and more flexible security than you can provide with point solutions. Your IT team needs to protect internet access across your network devices no matter where employees are working, that includes the corporate headquarters, a branch office, or while out grabbing a coffee. And you want to do that with a single, manageable solution.

On this episode of The Digital Aspirations in Business Podcast, host Michael O’Connell a Security Solutions Architect at Aspire Technology Partners, discusses how Cisco Umbrella Secure Internet Gateway (SIG) can cut complexity, reduce risk exposure, and improve network performance with a single cloud-delivered service that deploys easily and scales according with your business.

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-biz/episodes/How-Cisco-Umbrella-Secure-Internet-Gateway-Can-Protect-Your-Enterprise-e189uad

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Cybersecurity in Education: Standards & Policies (Part 2 of 2)

Providing a high level of cybersecurity requires applying the correct tools and technologies using a standards-based approach across an organization based on policies and procedures. Nowhere can this be more difficult than in large school districts that may be managed differently across a state where every school district may be its own locally-run, policy-driven entity. Not every school in every district will have the same level of technology – or security – maturity in place. It requires creating a roadmap to help improve the security posture from where they are today to where they need to be in the future.

Join us for part two of an interesting two-part podcast on The Digital Aspirations in Education Podcast as host Jared Heiner, Director of Education Innovation and Sales at Aspire Technology Partners, discusses cybersecurity in education and the standards and policies schools need to consider to provide a greater of security. Jared’s guests are David Versocki, Chief Technology Officer for NYS Capital Region BOCES, and his colleague, Don Harple, Information Security Manager at the Northeastern Regional Information Center, NYS Capital Region BOCES.

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-edu/episodes/Cybersecurity-in-Education-Standards–Policies-Part-2-of-2-e12t2c9

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Cybersecurity in Education: Changing Behaviors & Awareness (Part 1 of 2)

Cybersecurity has been in the news more and more lately. We’ve all heard about ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure and supply chains run by corporations. Educational institutions are also at risk from “bad actors” who are looking for data. “Not because somebody just wants to have fun, they’re in it to make money,” says David Versocki, Chief Technology Officer for NYS Capital Region BOCES. He says that protecting student and institutional data requires more than technology, “What we’re trying to change is behaviors and the awareness of where the threats are coming from. The tools are just part of the toolkit that can reduce your risk.”

Join us for part one of an interesting two-part podcast on The Digital Aspirations in Education Podcast as host Jared Heiner, Director of Education Innovation and Sales at Aspire Technology Partners, discusses cybersecurity threats to educational institutions and the changing behaviors and awareness necessary to combat them. Jared’s guests are David Versocki and his colleague, Don Harple, Information Security Manager at the Northeastern Regional Information Center, NYS Capital Region BOCES. Together they tackle the identifying threats and vulnerabilities and ways to drive greater organizational security awareness.

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-edu/episodes/Cybersecurity-in-Education-Changing-Behaviors–Awareness-Part-1-of-2-e12t24pd

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Managing Today’s VDI Infrastructure – Part 2

In the first part of our podcast, we discussed how the new hybrid workplace – remote and on-prem – needs a scalable and manageable VDI solution. We talked about how Aspire, along with partners Cisco and NetApp, are helping IT teams deploy and mange large numbers of virtual desktops to enable remote VDI access to corporate resources. In this episode, the second part of our series, we take a deeper dive into the types of management tools for consideration by IT teams tasked with supporting a remote + on-prem workforce.

Join us for part two of the podcast with host Christian Chavez, Solutions Architect at Aspire Technology Partners, and his industry pro guests – Brad TerEick, Cloud Infrastructure & Software Architect at Cisco, and Chuck Foley, Senior Director at NetApp. The trio discusses VDS or Virtual Desktop Service, which is a SaaS-delivered global control solution that can deploy, manage, and optimize your VDI environment, and Intersight Workload Optimizer, a SaaS-delivered real-time decision engine that works to increase performance of both public and private cloud environments. Get your notepads handy – there’s a lot to be learned in this episode!

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-biz/episodes/Managing-Todays-VDI-Infrastructure-Part-2-of-2-e126b2d

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Managing Today’s VDI Infrastructure – Part 1

If there is one word to describe the state of VDI today, that word is “scale.” Many companies were using virtual desktops in some limited capacity before 2020, but today, the wide-scale adoption of remote workplaces means that IT teams are often scrambling to provide access to corporate networks, storage, and other resources. Most organizations were not prepared to have dozens, hundreds and thousands of workers now remote and requiring access to on-premise resources. Providing and managing that remote VDI access to corporate resources is the topic of our Digital Aspirations in Business two-part podcast.

Join us for part one of the podcast as host Chistian Chavez, Solutions Architect at Aspire Technology Partners, leads a far-ranging discussion with two industry pros – Brad TerEick, Cloud Infrastructure & Software Architect at Cisco, and Chuck Foley, Senior Director at NetApp. The trio discuss how the recent shift to hybrid working has made many organizations consider scaling VDI across the enterprise and how, along with workplace flexibility, this can become an IT management nightmare if not properly handled.

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-biz/episodes/Managing-Todays-VDI-Infrastructure-Part-1-of-2-e126atc

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Pausing to Plan: Reviewing Tech Inside & Outside the Classroom

At the start of a crisis or emergency the call for help is often, “All Hands On Deck!” But after the crisis passes, or once you are in now dealing with the emergency, you begin to see the shortcomings that exist in your system. This has been the case nationwide for school districts, systems and communities during the pandemic. School districts, colleges and universities have all learned critical lessons about technology – both inside the classroom and remote. Now it’s time to take those “lessons learned” and apply them not only to the current crisis but to the future of educational technology.

Join us on The Digital Aspirations in Education Podcast as host Jared Heiner, Director of Education Innovation and Sales at Aspire Technology Partners, interviews Shelley Rossitto, Focus Group Coordinator at NYSCATE. Jared and Shelley discuss many of the critical challenges faced by school districts, educators, students, parents and the technology teams that have supported them in remote and hybrid learning during the pandemic. As Shelley says about tech planning and the pandemic, “The difference last year was it happened in a split second. And planning was done during a coffee break. And implementation was in a parking lot with masks, with one hand tied behind your back.” Next time it can be different!

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-edu/episodes/Pausing-to-Plan-Reviewing-Tech-Inside-and-Outside-the-Classroom-evgos8

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Esports Gets Schools Back into the Game

While classes at the high-school and college levels remain in a variety of hybrid learning modes, school sports are mostly off the field due to contact concerns. But there is one shining exception: Esports! More than 185 colleges and universities, and many high schools, play host to formal interscholastic esports teams which are a great channel for communication and competition among different student populations.

Join us on The Digital Aspirations in Education Podcast as host Jared Heiner, Director of Education Innovation and Sales at Aspire Technology Partners, interviews Tyler Schrodt, founder of the Electronic Gaming Federation (EGF), the official governing body for Division-1 Collegiate, High School and Youth Amateur esports leagues. Jared and Tyler discuss the exciting and innovative ways that electronic gaming is impacting education and how the EGF is providing an infrastructure for interscholastic esports to leverage the best aspects of traditional sports in online competitions.

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-edu/episodes/Esports-Gets-Schools-Back-into-the-Game-emuchl

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The Impact of Remote and Hybrid Learning on the Future of Education

Here we are in the middle (still) of a pandemic that continues to dramatically change the way we teach and learn. All the traditional familiarity of in-person learning has changed. Most schools – whether K-12 or higher education – are providing some type of remote- or hybrid-learning experience. In this episode of our podcast, we discuss synchronous and asynchronous remote learning scenarios as well as household technology usage and access to remote learning solutions.

Host Jared Heiner, Director of Education Innovation and Sales at Aspire Technology Partners, and his guests Dr. Jason Vickers, Department of Education Theory and Practice, and Dr. Alex Kumi, Assistant Professor, Education Theory and Practice, both from the University at Albany, provide context and insight into the impact of remote and hybrid learning on the future of education.

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-edu/episodes/What-is-the-Impact-of-Remote-and-Hybrid-Learning-on-the-Future-of-Education-eimrc6

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The Impact of Business Resiliency on Business Operations, Productivity and Efficiency

In the past, business resiliency often sounded like acts of heroism – IT admins rushing to retrieve backup tapes from offsite archives to restore and recover lost data as quickly as possible to make everything go back to “the way it was.” Today, however, business resiliency means adjusting and adapting business operations; not merely restoring IT to the way it was but often changing the function of your business operations to meet new demands. Take the current environment and remote working, remote learning, and telemedicine. Business resilience isn’t about returning to the status quo but adapting and redefining to new business conditions.

On this episode of The Digital Aspirations in Business Podcast, host Doug Stevens and his guests, including Chandler Basset, Engineering Director, Northeast at Aspire Technology Partners, discuss business impact analysis, disaster recovery and how providing business resilience during the “new normal” is forcing businesses to become more innovative.

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-biz/episodes/The-Impact-of-Business-Resiliency-on-Business-Operations–Productivity-and-Efficiency-egvanr

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Workforce Development and the Next Frontier of Skilled Labor

The Capital Region of New York State is home to one of the hottest hands-on STEM learning hubs – Capital Region BOCES.  When considering career readiness during a tumultuous economic environment, Senior Executive Officer at NYS Capital Region BOCES Joseph Dragone says the parallel paths of workforce development and economic development are completely interrelated – which is why he and his team work closely with industry and business partners on workforce development and the next frontier of skilled labor. Join us on The Digital Aspirations in Education Podcast for insight and discussion about new hands-on skilled labor areas like Engineering Technologies, Telecom and 5G, IoT, and Video Game Design.

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-edu/episodes/Workforce-Development-and-the-Next-Frontier-of-Skilled-Labor—with-Dr–Joseph-Dragone-of-NYS-Capital-Region-BOCES-eg3fuf

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The Impact of In-Classroom and Remote Learning Technology

COVID-19 has caused many educators who may have resisted technology in the past, to find great value in using technology in the classroom. Students require access to technology and the internet – that point is clear. And educational technology access requires specific support ranging from internal technology teams to external providers with knowledge of the K-12 environment. In the second half of our two-part podcast with guest Dr. Amy DelCorvo, CEO and Executive Director of NYSCATE, host Jared Heiner discusses how instructional technology is blending with infrastructure technology and the ways this impacts classroom and remote learning. Join us on The Digital Aspirations in Education Podcast for more insight and discussion.

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-edu/episodes/The-Impact-of-In-Classroom-and-Remote-Learning-Technology—Listen-to-Our-Interview-with-Dr–Amy-DelCorvo-of-NYSCATE-Part-2-efigv5

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Flipped Learning in the Age of COVID-19

In the mid-1960s, New York State launched a small association to provide technology coordinators for each school district. Flash forward to 2020 and membership in the New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education (NYSCATE) is now 30,000 strong, but that is just a fraction of its potential reach. The organization’s ambitious mission is to enhance education by leveraging the power of the technology to assist every educator and every learner with their diverse needs. Join host Jared Heiner and his guest Dr. Amy DelCorvo, CEO and Executive Director of NYSCATE on The Digital Aspirations in Education Podcast as they discuss several topics, including flipped learning due to , including the recent impact of COVID-19 and the need for remote teaching platforms.

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-edu/episodes/Flipped-Learning-in-the-Age-of-COVID-19—Listen-to-Our-Interview-with-Dr–Amy-DelCorvo-of-NYSCATE-Part-1-efigt6

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Taking a Managed Detection & Response (MDR) Security Approach

In a research note, Gartner recently said that, in many organizations, especially mid-sized enterprises, IT has been over-invested in security protections, controls, and products. They recommended allocating more security budget toward managed detection and response (MDR). This makes sense. With new security challenges that we are seeing organizations dealing with, MDR is a reasonable methodology and tool set for threat mitigation.

On this episode of The Digital Aspirations in Business Podcast, host Doug Stevens and his guest, John Rossiter, Chief Architect of the Security Operations Center at Aspire Technology Partners, compare MDR to more traditional security approaches and tools and discuss where enterprises need to focus their attention – especially in today’s work from home environment which provides an expanded attack surface for corporate network threats.

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-biz/episodes/Taking-a-Managed-Detection–Response-MDR-Security-Approach-eel95g

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IoT in Education: Connected Buses and Smart Cities

Active IT projects have shifted to focus on bringing capabilities to remote workers and helping them securely access resources that they use day-to-day. Some of those remote workers are students who may not have high-speed internet access from their homes. One solution is to use Connected Buses that were designed to provide access to the internet for students with long commutes. Today, we are starting to see those buses deployed as community internet access points! Connected Buses, Smart Cities, and how IoT can help during pandemics – those are just a few of the topics on this episode of the Digital Aspirations in Education Podcast from Aspire Technology Partners. Join podcast host, Jared Heiner, Director of Education Innovation & Sales at Aspire Technology Partners, and with his guest Brian Schillaci, IoT Specialist at Aspire Technology Partners, to learn more!

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-edu/episodes/IoT-in-Education-Connected-Buses–Smart-Cities–and-More-ed46h3

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The Power of Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) for Your Organization

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What Does IoT Mean for Education?

Digital Aspirations for Education Podcast discusses the transformation journey and the technology applications that empower our teaching and learning institutions towards a seamless digital transition. Aspire Technology Partners uncovers how Education can align technology initiatives to education outcomes that are going to deliver tangible impact to the Education leaders, Administrators, Faculty & Staff, Students, and educational institutions as a whole.

In this first episode, podcast host Jared Heiner, Aspire’s Director of Education Innovation & Sales together with Lance Ford, Education Advocate from Cisco, and Brian Schillaci, Aspire IoT Specialist, share insights on what Internet of Things (IoT) means in Education.

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-edu/episodes/What-does-the-IoT-Mean-for-Education-ebmmaf/a-a1nsa82

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Top IT Priorities for 2020 (Part 2)

In the second part of this discussion, Doug Stevens and John Cope tackles the IT Priorities that include Leveraging IoT data for greater insights, keeping up with the pace of new cybersecurity threats, and the impacts of the collaboration experience on efficiency and employee retention.

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-biz/episodes/More-Top-IT-priorities-for-2020-Part-2-of-2-ebcsh0

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Top IT Priorities for 2020 (Part 1)

Digital transformation is an ongoing trend for many enterprises, but there are several key priorities for IT teams in 2020. In our inaugural episode of the Digital Aspirations Business Podcast from Aspire Technology Partners, host Doug Stevens interviews Kevin Leahy about the Top IT Priorities for 2020 and what you should be preparing for this year.

This is not a hypothetical discussion. We talk about the IT investment areas that are a focus for your competitors, partners, and peers today. It’s important to establish a level set for the market to ensure you’re doing the right things for your business.

Doug and Kevin discuss leading IT priorities for 2020 including data protection moving to the boardroom, cloud scaling, integration challenges and early workload decisions for cloud deployments, and internal IT management processes and making sure IT is enabling the pace of transformation.

Podcast audio link: https://anchor.fm/digital-aspirations-biz/episodes/Top-IT-priorities-for-2020-eat08

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